


Running On (Running Blind)

by BurningGalaxies



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-22
Updated: 2019-04-22
Packaged: 2020-01-23 17:52:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,316
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18554800
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BurningGalaxies/pseuds/BurningGalaxies
Summary: A slightly different AU where Five is a familiar and Delores is a witch who rescues him from his struggles to survive the apocalypse alone.





	Running On (Running Blind)

**Author's Note:**

> This small fic was supposed to be a blurb based on the amazing animagi headcanons from @fivesshorts from a WHILE ago, but hey! What better material to use for my 500th post on tumblr?

Thirty seven days passed before Five stumbled across another survivor of the apocalypse. Thirty seven days of scavenging for scraps, searching destroyed buildings for refuge, and his fruitless attempts to escape the smoke ridden air that plagued each town he found.

Thirty seven days of complete isolation.

He'd been trudging on at a snail's pace for hours as he traversed the roads leading into the next city, his fur caked with ash and soot that helped to blend in with the ruins around him, but made the sun's hellish rays all the more cruel. His paws ached. His eyes burned. Dry, all-consuming heat pulsed through his body in waves to the point he thought he might pass out. And why shouldn't he? Miles of road stretched out before him, endless and ruthless and unforgiving. Rationally, he knew that he was not going to make it that much farther before he succumbed to the heat. He might as well conserve energy and...lay down for a while...

Five collapsed, and the grey of the apocalypse world faded to black.

 

* * *

 

Squeaking tires. Rattling metal. The familiar click-click of heels. Five was barely aware of the noises, but not enough to tell if they were real. He almost felt like he was floating.

And then a whisper, "Hello there, little fox."

Everything faded again.

 

* * *

 

When Five awoke, it was to the sound of crackling fire. His skin still felt warm, but it wasn't anywhere near the intensity he felt out in the sun. His periphery was dark now, telling him that night had fallen, and -

Five sat up, eyes wide as he surveyed the land around him. There was still rubble in every direction, no roof above his head, but he was sitting right in the middle of a circular clearing, laying on a pile of blankets right beside a small, controlled fire.

And he was human again. Five frowned as he flexed his fingers, the feeling unfamiliar after so many days spent in his animal form. Foxes didn't need to eat as much as thirteen year old boys, which had helped him survive for at least a couple weeks after that awful Twinkie incident.

He jumped again when a voice sounded behind him, and he whirled around to face the woman before stumbling to his feet and scrambling back a few paces.

"Easy - easy," she held out her hands, and Five knew exactly what she was before he even made out her form. He could tell from her aura. Her pristine clothing and unmarred skin only served to drive his suspicion home. She was young. Older than him, clearly, but young. Impossibly untouched by the apocalypse.

She was a witch.

"Hey," she smiled softly, though the sentiment didn't seem to reach her wide, sad eyes. From what Five could tell, anyway. The fire only revealed her features to an extent. "Hey, it's okay. I'm not going to hurt you, honey."

Her words weren't unkind, but everything about her was mysterious by nature, and Five was cautious as he inched closer, disbelief spelled out on his face clear as day. He opened his mouth to speak, but choked on dry air, the burning of his throat reminding him just how dehydrated he'd become in the past couple days. When was the last time he'd had water?

She held out a hand to him and Five felt an instinctive tug, staggering the last few steps towards her and breathing a sigh of relief when the witch pressed her hand to his forehead. Her very touch was a refreshment, eased the burn of his throat and helped him to take a proper breath.

She sighed, hand drifting to Five's cheek. "You're so _young_..."

Five blinked as if breaking out of a trance, startled, then literally blinked away from the woman, all the way across the other side of the fire where he fell right on his ass. "Who - who are you?"

The woman didn't even look phased. She folded her hands and sighed down at her lap again, tucking a strand of short hair behind her ear. "Delores."

"How are you still alive?"

"A spell." She replied simply. Calmly.

Five narrowed his eyes at her, still suspicious. He climbed to his feet, watching her as he shoved his hands in his pockets. "Are there any... others? With that spell?"

"No." Her response was sad that time. Not out loud, but Five could feel it. It resonated with him, tugged at the same feeling in his heart that still overwhelmed him from time to time. Sadness. Loss. Fear.

Loneliness.

Five rounded the fire again and knealed down beside her, that same tug acting as an unrelenting urge to be near her side. Something about her was too easy to trust. He didn't know what to do about it but relent, to accept the help that he'd cried himself hoarse looking for in the first couple days of his arrival.

"You know what I am, don't you."

"I do." Delores made eye contact with him, lips quirking up in a small smile. "But that's not why I rescued you, if that's what you think. I knew you needed help and that's that."

Five furrowed his eyebrows. "But how? I haven't seen anyone else..."

Delores looked away, fiddling with her hands. "I was- I was with my friends when it happened. They weren't like me, they couldn't... Protect themselves. I tried to help, but the building came down and there was nothing else I could do." She took another deep breath, and her smile returned, albeit a little shaky. "How about you, little fox? Where did you come from?"

Five rubbed the back of his head. "It's Five."

"Five?"

"Yeah."

"Okay."

"...."

"...."

Five shifted under Delores' gaze, rubbed at his eyes. "Same as you, I suppose. I just ended up here, and... And my family..."

Delores nodded her understanding, empathy flooding her aura and unknowingly pushing Five even closer to the brink of tears. He ground the heels of his palms into his eyes to keep it from happening, then sniffed and clenched his fists.

"They're dead, so. I need to do what I can to get back to where I belong. Back in my own time."

Delores considered that, nodding just slightly after a long pause. "I could help you, if you want. Survivors are better off sticking together, and to be honest, I don't feel right leaving you alone again, Five."

Five scoffed, but he did shuffle closer, using his hands to push himself up on the pillar Delores had been using as a bench. "I'm not just some kid, you know."

"No, you're not. But for the sake of my morality, would you consider it?" She offered her hand for an official hand shake, and Five regarded her silently for a long moment.

He gestured to the wagon behind them - the one he'd heard squeaking earlier. "Do I get shotgun when I'm...?"

Delores chuckled but nodded. "If you'd like that."

"And you don't care which form I take? You won't try to bind me or anything?"

"I would never," Delores crossed her heart with her free hand, completely serious. "You'd be free to go wherever you want, whenever you want. Promise."

Five bounced his knee as he thought about it, biting at his lip again. A partnership would be beneficial for both of them... Really, he was just making the smartest decision. "Alright, then I'm with you." He took her hand.

"I'm with you..." Delores echoed, squeezing his hand in a firm grasp to seal the deal. "Little fox." They shared a smile, and the connection between them only grew stronger when they let each other go.

They staid together for thirty years after that. Thirty years of foraging for food, practicing spell work, and writing out their future in math equations on every building they passed.

Thirty years of loving companionship.

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> (Just so you all know... Five is a SILVER fox in familiar form. Just thought that might be important to know for visual purposes)


End file.
